AOL sells 800 patents to Microsoft for $1.06 billion

AOL announced on Monday that it will sell more than half of its patent portfolio to Microsoft. The sale of 800 patents and their related applications, plus a license for Microsoft to use AOL’s remaining patents will generate $1.06 billion for AOL.

The Microsoft deal came about after a “robust” auction of AOL’s patents, according to Tim Armstrong, AOL’s chairman and CEO. After the announcement, AOL’s shares jumped 35 percent. The company says that it will return a “significant portion” of the sale proceeds to its shareholders before the end of the year.

After the sale, AOL will still hold more than 300 patents, and it will also have a license for the patents it is selling to Microsoft.